The Shimmering
by Basmathgirl
Summary: A weirdly familiar man keeps appearing in front of Donna. Why? And he seems to know her too.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning:** Usage of mild swear words.

**Summary:** A weirdly familiar man keeps appearing in front of her. Why?

**Disclaimer:** I once thought I owned these characters; and then I forgot.

**A/N:** If you don't recognise the song, it's "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt.

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><p><strong>The Shimmering<strong>

**Part 1**

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It was as Donna turned in to Arcadia Close that it happened: a man shimmered into being in front of her on the pavement. That would have been surprising as it was, but this was added to by the fact that he had a panicked look of recognition on his face as he squealed "Donna!" before he shimmered out of being again. If Donna were of a more pathetic disposition she would have fainted; as it was, she merely staggered with shock for a bit.

Back home she asked her grandfather, "Gramps, do I look alright to you?"

"Why's that sweetheart?" he asked with concern, taking in her anxious demeanour and paler than normal complexion. "You look as if you could do with a good night's sleep and some dinner in your belly; other than that you look fine!" He smiled encouragingly at her.

"It's just… I saw a man yesterday who sort of..," she did a wavy hand gesture, "wobbled in front of me before shouting out my name."

"Is he alright? Did you call an ambulance?" Wilf asked.

"No! Nothing like that happened; he wasn't ill…," but Donna didn't know what he was.

Wilf took a sip of his tea. "Then what's the problem?" he pondered, wondering what worried her about the encounter.

"I don't understand how he got there, or why he shouted my name like that. And… I know this will sound stupid, Gramps, but I _know_ him and I don't!" she explained.

"You're right, it does sound stupid," Wilf chuckled. "What did this bloke look like exactly?"

"Well…," she gazed off into the distance as she tried to recall him. "He was tall, skinny, in a blue suit with a red tie, with dark spikey haired and was a… what did you call them blokes with sideburns? Erm… a rockabilly!"

Wilf visibly blanched as he recognised the description. "Who could that be?" he mumbled.

"I know!" she declared. "It's your friend John Smith. Don't say you've forgotten him," she accused him.

"Oh, John!" Wilf tried to hide his reaction, and desperately tried to come up with a way to distract her onto another topic. "What was your mum doing for dinner tonight? Only we'd better make a start, eh?"

Sensing his need to talk about something else, Donna let herself be veered towards some monotonous task; and decided to think about John Smith later, when she got the chance.

Three days later she was closer to home, struggling with some awkward bags of shopping when John Smith shimmered in front of her again. The effect was like an old fashioned dial television as he came into vision. "Donna, don't!" he cried just before he disappeared again and she called out his name.

An old man passed by her at that point, accompanied by a manky looking Labrador who could hardly shuffle alongside its master. "Did you see that man?" Donna accosted him. "Did you see him?"

"Who? No, sorry love," the man apologised and wheezed on his way.

Perhaps this was a side effect of all that memory loss? She'd lost over two years' worth of memories after all; and perhaps hallucinations were part of the package. Shaking her head, she attempted to carry her shopping safely the rest of the way home.

Just as she'd decided she'd dreamt the whole thing, the man appeared before her again nine days later; but this time it happened in her office. "Donna! Don't go…" he yelled, but she lost the end of the message when he fizzled out of view again.

This was beginning to get irritating! What the hell was going on! She looked round to try and find the cameras filming this prank. She'd have their guts for garters when she'd catch the blighters pulling this stunt on her. "Come on out! I know you can hear me!" she shouted at her pranksters. "I'll sue the backsides off you!"

But no-one emerged to own up; though the temp down the hall gave her a weird look.

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><p>A week later she was out with Veena and Nerys, having a drink, when she heard someone calling her name pathetically from behind a skip; a voice and a tone that was extremely familiar to her, but she had no idea why. Abandoning them in the pub beer garden, she made her way across the road, and sought out the voice calling her.<p>

As she neared the skip, she called out "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" to the disembodied voice.

"Donna! Do you have to?" the voice whined. As she peered round the edge of the skip he was most annoyed that she laughed at him as he crouched on the ground. "This is NOT funny, Donna! I feel like crap, and I've ruined my suit! I don't remember travelling this way being so awful before, and I'm starving hungry."

"And hello to you too, John Smith," she smirked at him in amusement. What an idiot! Where on earth had he managed to get himself completely covered in goo?

She helped him stand properly, and as he tried to dust himself down he thought to ask, "Why are you calling me John Smith?"

She laughed at his scrunched up face. "Because it's your name, Skipboy!" she sneered.

"No it isn't!" he insisted. "That's what _he_ used. I chose something else." He thoughtfully considered her. "Where is he by the way?" he tried to look around her, obviously trying to seek someone out.

Donna turned to peer behind her too. "Who you looking for? 'Cos you won't find anyone except Nerys and Veena," she quizzed him. "And stop dodging the question: what is your name?"

"Oh! I didn't introduce myself, did I?" he gave her his cheesiest grin and stuck his hand out to shake hers. "I'm the new and official Benedict Noble. Do you like it?"

"Of course I do! It has always been the top name on my list of possible baby names… and why do I feel that you'd know that?" Donna looked at him most disconcertedly.

He tapped his forehead. "Because I do! Keep up Donna! You weren't always this thick," he mocked her.

"And you weren't always so…," her face crumpled as she realised that she had no idea what he normally was.

"What's the matter, Donna?" he grabbed her hands and recoiled. "Wow, you feel wrong! What did he do to you?"

She pulled sharply away from him. "What are you on about? And who is this 'he' you keep going on about?" she glared at him for good measure. Idiot! Going around changing his name to almost hers in some weird stalker-ish manner!

"Oh Donna," he sighed softly. "He really did a number on you, didn't he?" He reached out to tenderly caress her cheek. "I'm sorry; I'm so sorry."

"You'll be even more sorry, mate, if you don't get your paws off me!" she growled at him, causing him to step back in confusion.

"But it's me, Donna! Surely you know me? We know each other like we know ourselves," he pleaded with her. "I owe you my very existence. How can you deny knowing me?"

"It's really easy," she ground out through gritted teeth. "As far as I'm concerned you're a warped friend of Gramps that used to call himself John but ditched that for Benedict."

"Then I'll have to make you see," he told her, determinedly taking a step closer again.

"Oh yeah! How are you going to do that?" she threatened him.

"By doing this!" he replied by grabbing her head and bringing his lips down onto hers in a rough kiss.

There was a rush of images in her mind; and then there was a resounding slap!

"Don't ever do that again, Timeboy!" she growled at him. "It was marginally better than a head butt; however I will be forced to personally castrate you if you try it again!"

He held his cheek and sniffed defensively. "Okay, Donna!" he answered.

"I suppose you'll want a drink now you're here," she offered. "Not that I think you deserve one for grabbing me like that; but you're still a friend of Gramps'."

"So we're using that as our excuse, are we?" he gleefully teased her, delighted to see her blush. "Come on then!" he held his hand out towards her in invitation; and Donna was surprised to find herself taking it without too much argument.

"Prawn!" she nudged his shoulder playfully when she got the chance as they crossed the road.

"Tart!" he nudged her back; and they both giggled together.

* * *

><p>"Oi! Donna! Who's the bloke?" Veena shouted out to them as they appeared at the beer garden entrance. "And what is he wearing?" she asked with disdain.<p>

He looked down at himself then, suddenly remembering his ruined suit. As he went to apologise Donna jumped in with an excuse, "He had a bit of an accident with a sump, poor love. I'm taking him home to wash and change in a minute." Noticing her friends' inquisitive glance at their entwined hands, she quickly added, "Veena, Nerys, this is Benedict!"

"Are you sure that's his name?" Nerys mumbled, seeming to catch herself from blurting out the question.

Donna chose to ignore her, and instead asked, "Anyone want another drink?" before dragging Benedict with her into the murky depths of the saloon bar. "What do you want, Sunshine?" she asked him as they reached the bar and a barmaid sauntered up to take their order.

"What do you recommend?" he asked her with a beamy grin. "I'm a bit new at this lark." He leant closer to confide, "I've never been in a pub before."

"What never?" she almost shrieked at him before lowering her voice. "How can you have lived this long and not been in a pub? Surely someone has enticed you in before? They're not exactly hard to find, are they?" she smirked at him.

"I've seen them; I've just never been in one," he defended himself with a pout. He flinched as Donna's hand came up to his cheek, but she patted it rather than slapped it.

"We can't have that, can we?" She turned her attention to the waiting barmaid, who was frantically chewing gum for England. "We'll have a white wine spritzer, half a lager top, a Bacardi Breezer, and…," she contemplated Benedict, "a pint of Guinness."

"Will I like that?" he anxiously whispered next to her ear, causing his warm breath to waft over her.

"You should do," she whispered her explanation. "Lots of blokes go for that." She smiled encouragingly at him, wondering why she believed him when normally she wouldn't. Having paid for the drinks she handed him the Guinness and another drink to carry. "Come on, Benny, let's go meet our public."

"I'm not called Benny!" he whined as they moved from the bar; and Donna was suddenly struck with how familiar that whine sounded, almost too familiar!

"So, Benny boy…," Veena began her line of enquiry as they sat down with their drinks, "how did you and Donna here meet?"

"Well, she was there when…," he stumbled, overcome with shyness.

"He's one of Gramps' mates," Donna stated. "He was at our house that night of the planets in the sky."

He gave her a wild look, wanting to tell her that wasn't him, but he bit his tongue and held that confession in. "Is that right, Benny?" Nerys sneered at him; though he couldn't quite understand why.

"That was our first night together," he admitted; and was startled by the 'oo-oh!' both women made.

"He doesn't mean like that, you idiots!" Donna snapped at them. "Do you really think my mother would let me get up to anything beneath her roof?"

"No! But she didn't mind when you had Lance move in with you in your flat!" Veena laughed; except neither Donna nor Benedict laughed with her.

"He was a prat!" Benedict commented, and hastily took a sip of his beer. "Mmm, this isn't bad, Donna!" he grinned with delight.

"Told you," she smiled confidently at him. Seeing her friends puzzled expressions, she explained, "It's his first pint of Guinness."

"What else is going to be his first time tonight, Donna?" Veena asked cheekily.

Donna glared at her. "Oi! Don't start! We aren't all tarts around here," she insisted.

"You've changed your tune," Nerys chimed in. "Or have you changed your tastes?"

"Donna?" Benedict asked her in confusion. She could feel it rolling off him in waves.

She took hold of his hand, giving it a consoling squeeze, "Don't worry, love, I'll sort you out later."

"I bet you will!" Veena scoffed, adding to his confusion as he frowned desperately. "For goodness sake, Donna; put him out of his misery! Are you going to have sex with him or not?"

"Oh!" he blushed in understanding. "I wasn't expecting…"

"What were you expecting then?" Nerys suddenly asked, throwing his composure to the four winds.

"I don't…," he stammered. He gave Donna a forlorn, pleading, look, "I never…"

"Give over, girls!" Donna admonished them. "Leave the poor bloke alone! He's only just got here, for Pete's sake!" Summoning up her best glare, she threatened them, "Pick on him and you'll have me to deal with. Have we got that straight?" Both women nodded their agreement. "Right! That's sorted, now can we please get back to what's important."

"What? You mean that pig's ear of a hairstyle Natalie had last week?" Veena asked, causing the other's to laugh as well; and the conversation veered off into banalities until they finished their drinks.

* * *

><p>Finally getting her chance to escape from the two women, Donna said her goodbyes and tugged on Benedict's hand to drag him after her. He staggered considerably once they left the beer garden and tried to walk down the road. "Donna? I've got something wrong with me," he complained.<p>

"It's called being drunk," she enunciated very slowly for him.

"Are you sure?" he released her hand and slung his arm around her shoulder. "I thought that was bad but I feel quite happy about it."

"That's why they call it being merry," she told him, amused by his growing boyish grin.

"What did…," he almost tripped up a kerb stone as he tried to ask his question, swinging inwards towards her, "what did they mean by beer goggles? What are they?"

She waved away the gassy beer smell that emanated from him. "That's when someone looks attractive to you purely because you are sloshed...you know, drunk!" she emphasised.

His weight bore down on her again. "They didn't mean that about you though, did they? I mean… look at you… you're whatshername!" he declared to all and sundry. He swung nearer still. "You're beautiful! That's the word! Beautiful, and…" He halted, suddenly sobering slightly as he looked at her. "You're ginger; did you know that? My beautiful ginger Donna."

"Erm… thanks for that," she replied, pushing him forward and holding him up now as he wavered dangerously beside her. "I'd have forgotten if you hadn't've told me! Though I'm not sure about the beautiful bit."

"But you are!" he insisted. "He would never have said it; but I can!" That was when he burst into song. "You're beautiful! You're beautiful it's true…when I saw your face…'cross a crowded place…and I don't know what to do…'cos I'm so in love with you!"

"Yeah, thanks for that," Donna muttered with embarrassment. Seeing the front drive come into view, she remarked, "Thank goodness we're almost there!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I have edited out the piece here that made it questionable as far as the ratings here on FFN are concerned.

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><p><strong>Part 2<strong>

.

Previously:

_"But you are!" he insisted. "He would never have said it; but I can!" That was when he burst into song. "You're beautiful! You're beautiful it's true…when I saw your face…'cross a crowded place…and I don't know what to do…'cos I'm so in love with you!"_

_"Yeah, thanks for that," Donna muttered with embarrassment. Seeing the front drive come into view, she remarked, "Thank goodness we're almost there!"_

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><p>Apart from the porch light the house was in darkness. "The light's on but nobody's home!" Benedict giggled at his own joke.<p>

"Yeah, that's what they'll say about you," Donna commented as she wrestled with the act of getting her front door key out whilst keeping him upright, and opened the door. How he didn't fall through it she never knew. She steered him down the hallway into the kitchen diner.

As his gaze swept over the space he cried, "Oh look! Home sweet home! Hello house!"

"I'm sure it's saying hello back; now since we're here you'd better take that suit off," she ordered him.

The pout on his face was priceless! "Why?" He placed his hands across his body as if he'd just been found naked.

"So that I can wash it," she replied, and pointed out the washing machine nearby. "You remember washing, don't you? It gives your clothes the chance of being clean again."

He peered down to consider his suit, "But the machine might ruin the cloth!"

"It's already ruined, Sunshine. That goop did a pretty good job of doing that," she pointed out. "Now take it off."

He peeled off his jacket, and then suddenly stopped when he noticed Donna had done the same with her jacket. "'Ere! What's going on?" he demanded.

Donna flung her jacket into the machine. "You glooped me as well; you can't have forgotten already, surely?"

He sheepishly looked back at her. "No!" he insisted, and began to undo his trousers. He started to laugh. "You will be gentle with me, won't you, Donna?" he giggled.

"I'm not making any promises," she replied. There was something about his expression that made her decide to remove anything else she was wearing upstairs in her own bedroom. "Now let's get you into bed before we get caught like this and have to answer awkward questions."

His giggling fit continued as he stumbled up the stairs; but she managed to steer him into the spare bedroom. He fell onto the single bed there with glee. "Care to join me?" he tried to entice her, but he wasn't having much luck with the seductive look.

"No thanks," she informed him. "I'll go find you some pyjamas, and then I want to see you in that bed!" She marched out to grab some of Wilf's spare pyjamas, and then bullied Benedict into changing into them, taking his removed shirt and tie to put into the washing machine along with his suit. "Night Benedict!" she called out when she returned back upstairs, unsurprised to get no response. He'd gone out like a light.

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><p>Donna was woken the next morning by her mother shouting loudly on the landing outside her bedroom door. "Donna! Donna! Come here!" Sylvia yelled at the top of her voice.<p>

"What?" Donna snapped at her, swinging open the bedroom door with some force. "Why on earth are you shouting so loudly at this time of the morning?"

"Would you care to explain him?" Sylvia pointed into the spare bedroom at the prone figure sleeping soundly in the bed.

"He's a _friend_!" Donna rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Anybody would think you'd just found him in _my _bed!"

"Don't get lippy with me, Missy!" Sylvia huffed. "And don't think you can bring in any Tom, Dick or Harry to sleep in my bed." She chose to ignore the snicker that caused Donna to give. "Who is he anyway?" she moved into the room to pull back the cover that hid his head. She let out a shriek of recognition that finally roused him.

"Donna? Come back to bed," he muttered and turned over, causing Donna to blush with embarrassment and Sylvia to glare at her knowingly.

"Well?" Sylvia demanded disdainfully. She bravely fought her deep-seated desire to beat the living daylights out of him for coming back and endangering Donna.

But Donna just shrugged at her. "He's a mate! He knows Gramps and he came to meet me last night. We had a few drinks with Veena and Nerys, and he got a bit tipsy. As he has nowhere else to go at the moment I brought him home with me since I thought you wouldn't mind," she emphasised the last bit deliberately.

"Yes...well…I suppose he can stay for a while," Sylvia had the grace to say within earshot, but she continued to glare at both Donna and especially the bed occupant. Unable to stay in the same room as _him_ she hastily left the bedroom to find Wilf. "Dad? Dad! Quick! Guess who's in our spare bed?" she whispered loudly to him before shutting the door on their private conversation.

"I think she remembers you," Donna commented to Benedict, who was looking slightly the worse for wear.

"Why are you in here waking me up?" he griped, and tried to bury his head under the covers again.

"Oh no you don't!" she leapt forward and wrenched the covers back down to reveal him. "Mum is on the warpath, so you'd better get out of your pit and make an appearance, Sunshine!"

"But Donna!" he moaned; why did that continue to sound so familiar to her? "Donna, I haven't got any clothes."

"No you haven't!" she agreed mischievously. "Whatever will you do?"

He grabbed her arm and dragged her nearer to him. "I'll wear your charcoal trouser suit if I have to; but I'd rather not if it's all the same to you," he grinned at her.

"How did you know about that? Have you been stalking me? Is that how you got all that knowledge about me?" she blazed, and tried to pull away from his grasp but he held on tight.

"No," he insisted. "I keep telling you; we _know_ each other."

"But…but…how do we know each other?" she whispered anxiously, wrestling with what her heart and her mind were telling her.

He sighed, and answered, "I'll have to show you again, won't I?" He slowly brought her closer still until their lips touched gently, pressing a chaste kiss there. Then another, followed by another; until he was kissing her delicately. He released her arm so that he could embrace her properly, her hands smoothed up his body to wrap her arms around his shoulders. Kiss after tender kiss they shared, deepening with each passing.

Her mind felt like it was expanding, growing, developing; knowing more than it had ever seemed to know before. She could see herself with him, running, laughing, crying, in so many different places until… until there was fire, pain and terror; so much terror. Everything that had been her came flooding back with certainty. He was her and she was him! They had been one split asunder. She needed him to survive, god how she needed him! And thank goodness they had found each other before it was too late.

Sylvia and Wilf found them lying on the bed with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, snogging like it was going out of fashion. "Aye aye!" Wilf exclaimed with glee. But to Sylvia's horror the couple in front of them didn't desist. Wilf touched her arm and indicated that they should leave them to it, so she reluctantly left the spare bedroom and shut the door. Not quietly, mind you.

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><p>Both Donna and Benedict had been aware on one level that their communion had been interrupted, but they chose not to care and continued their inner dialogue.<p>

_Do you see now?_ he asked her.

_Yes, yes I see,_ she replied. _But why did you come?_

_I had to! I had to see for myself why I stopped feeling you. I built myself a new version of dimensional cannon-come-vortex-manipulator, and got here as quickly as I could. You do understand, don't you?_

_Yes, of course, but…I thought you were happy with her,_ she probed. _Why come back for me? To me?_

_Oh Donna! I was foolish to think it would work. It only seemed right because you pushed me,_ he explained. _I was given away like a Christmas present. _

_You weren't mine to give. Weren't ours to give. _

_He thought so!_

_No! No it wasn't like that! He meant…_ she faltered. She realised that what she had been about to say wasn't true, since she no longer agreed with it.

_I don't care what he meant!_ His angry thoughts exploded in her mind. _He was wrong! He shouldn't have parted us like that!_ His bitterness burrowed into her mind.

_Shhh! Don't worry…you're back with me now; we'll make it alright_, she soothed him_. I don't have to live without you anymore._

He felt her compassion, understanding and unconditional love flow into his mind, easing his troubles away; and sparking his desire, allowing it into the foreground, flaming through them both. _Oh Donna!_ He groaned, both internally and externally.

That brought her sharply back into the room, and she realised that not only had they continued to kiss but things had physically gone much further than that. They had tenderly caressed each other, wanting to feel skin against skin; and she cried out with the delicious much yearned for sensations it created. Boy did it feel good! It obliterated everything else; all reason, all arguments.

She forced her eyes open and saw him unseeing above her; an ecstatic grin played about his features as he drowned in the feelings and sensations of their actions, her name a mantra on his lips.

"Doctor!" she involuntarily groaned out; and that stopped him dead in his tracks.

His eyes shot open and he glared at her. "What did you just say?" he accused her. "I'm not him," he murmured; a look of abject pain and rejection crossed his features. "How could you say that?" he uttered dejectedly, and pulled away from her.

"Benedict! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" she sobbed as she tried desperately to hold onto him. She dragged herself up and flung her arms around him, resting her forehead against his. "To me we _are_ the DoctorDonna," she whispered, "I wasn't implying you are him; I'd never do that." She gave a small wry laugh. "Let's be honest, this would never have happened with him."

"Why not?" he asked sharply. "Oh, you don't know that bit, do you?" he realised that she was missing out on vital information. Either that or she was ignoring an awful lot.

"What bit?" she inevitably asked, holding his gaze steady.

He floundered under her onslaught. Should he tell her; surely she knew? As he was deciding what to admit the distinctive voice of Sylvia could be heard coming up the stairs, causing them to jump apart in terror. He dove back under the covers and Donna hastily readjusted her nightwear.

* * *

><p>"Donna! Doc- John! Are you coming down to breakfast?" Sylvia shouted out, just before the door handle started to turn. Both Donna and Benedict held their breath as they waited for Sylvia to verbally attack them. "Have you two finally finished monkeying about? Good. Now get downstairs!" she ordered them.<p>

"Mum, Benny needs a dressing gown or something; his suit is in the washing machine," Donna explained.

"In my washing machine? What the heck are his clothes doing in my washing machine?" Sylvia's face was like thunder.

"Mine are in there too," Donna added; and then instantly wished she hadn't. "Mum! It isn't like that! Honest it isn't" she tried arguing.

"Oh yeah?" Sylvia's voice dripped with scorn. "What was all that earlier then? Yes, you can blush young lady, carrying on like that under my roof; and with _him_ of all people!"

Benedict tried to muffle his indignation at that as Donna protested loudly, "Don't you start on him; he's completely innocent here! And no, he isn't the Doctor before you begin that line of spitefulness."

Sylvia stood stunned for a second. "Donna, what do you mean?"

"I mean, mother, he…," she pointed to Benedict, "…is NOT the Doctor; so you can get that thought right out of your head, along with the one that my brain will explode at any second!"

"Is this your doing?" Sylvia spat at Benedict. "Have you put her up to this, or hypnotised her with your alien mumbo jumbo?"

"No!" he spluttered defensively as he emerged from hiding completely. "I'm not him! I'm part of him, I'll admit that; but mainly the hand." He wriggled his fingers at her.

"The what?" Sylvia looked like she would throttle him at any moment. "Don't give me that load of old flannel. You're the Doctor all right, so you can haul your bony arse out of my house and get the hell away from my daughter!"

Donna threw herself in front of him. "Oh no you don't! He'll be chucked out over my dead body. If he goes I go!"

"Wearing only your nightdress," Sylvia mocked her. "How very apt for the whore you've become."

"Now hang on!" Benedict moved in front of Donna protectively and yelled at Sylvia. "She is nowhere near as bad as you paint her. You never got it, did you? Your daughter is one of… take that back, _the_ most important person in all of creation and you have the bare-faced cheek to call her names? You don't deserve her! She's coming with me, away from you, and we're going to…"

Donna tenderly touched his arm, drawing his attention to her. "What are we going to do, Benny? I don't remember you asking me anything, or us discussing this," she softly spoke to him.

He grinned weakly at her. "Didn't we? I rather took it for granted that we'd be together now after what we… You do want to, don't you? I came all this way to find you," he stammered.

She stroked his cheek lovingly. "Of course I want to… if you're asking," she shyly replied.

They brightly smiled at each other before leaning in to kiss each other.

"Oh isn't that touching," Sylvia remarked sarcastically. "You'll be getting married next at this rate."

"That is the plan," Benedict replied, glad that Sylvia had gasped in surprise. He wasn't going to let her win points over him, not now.

"Does this plan include somewhere to live, a job; and… oh I don't know… money?" Sylvia sneered at him.

"Not yet, but it will do," he told her fervently. "Nothing can stop us from achieving anything."

"You'd better not get her knocked up then, as that'll soon scupper those plans," Sylvia snorted with derision. "I don't care who you are, Doctor or no Doctor, you need to make some money!"

"And we will!" he glared at her. "Mark my words; we will be together."

"Fine! I'll wait downstairs until you achieve all that, shall I? You'll need something more than Dad's pyjamas to ponce about in," Sylvia scoffed.

"Mum! You're not helping," Donna almost pleaded. "You don't know Benny like I do."

Sylvia contemplated their close proximity, "I think I can guess how much. You'd better get married pretty sharpish young man, or Dad will march the pair of you down the aisle using Trevor Lewis's air rifle." Her gaze turned even beadier. "Donna, back in your bedroom and get dressed; and you Benny, or whatever you are, can wait in here until Dad brings you some clothing." She shivered in disgust as Donna quickly gave Benedict a peck on the lips goodbye, and stood guard while Donna made her way back to her bedroom.

"Thank you, Sylvia," Benedict said in a low voice; but she chose to pretend she hadn't heard him.

As she made her way downstairs again, Sylvia began a mental list of clothing to be bought for them all, and all the arrangements for a wedding. She smiled as she realised that her friend Sadie was going to be green with envy when told about Donna's upcoming wedding. She could hear herself describing the passionate young man that wanted to marry her daughter so desperately. Oh yes! This could work very well in the boasting stakes.

Wilf couldn't work out for the life of him why Sylvia was humming a happy tune as she entered the kitchen, but he was grateful for small mercies. His happiness grew exponentially when Sylvia told him about the wedding. This was going to be an excellent day!

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><p><strong>AN2:** I have started a sequel called "Beyond Shimmering"


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